TLDR & TLDL: The Government finally unveiled its options for Auckland Light Rail this morning, including Light Metro, Light Rail and Tunnelled Light Rail. The 51-page summary of the Independent Chair’s report recommended Tunnelled Light Rail (see maps and more detail in charts and tables below, along with my counter-intuitive view).
The report estimated Tunnelled Light Rail would cost $14.6b to build over the next 10 years, generate a Net Present Value of $10.3b, have a Benefit to Cost Ratio of 1.1 and enable an extra 35,000 houses directly, and over 100,000 indirectly. However, none of the three options start being carbon negative until after 2050 because of the immense amounts of carbon embedded in the project’s concrete and steel during its construction. See my view below on why that’s important.
Elsewhere in the news this morning:
Air NZ is looking at making vaccination mandatory for domestic customers (NZ Herald-$$$) and life insurers such as Partners Life are increasing premiums for unvaccinated customers (Stuff);
The Tairāwhiti (East Coast), Northland, West Coast and Whanganui DHBs could take until mid-January to get to their 90% double vaxxed targets at current vaccination rates, potentially delaying the full opening of Auckland’s borders or forcing the Government to open for Christmas before those DHBs catch up (Stuff);
US President Joe Biden dialled back his US$3.5t social and renewable energy spending plan to US$1.75t, reinforcing fears of a series of sharp fiscal contractions next year in the global economy (Reuters);
Delta-driven slowdowns in consumer spending meant US GDP growth slowed to an annual rate of 2.0% in September quarter, its slowest growth rate since the pandemic began and below economists forecasts for around 2.6% (Reuters);
Wholesale market interest rates rose sharply here and in Australia after the Reserve Bank of Australia declined to intervene to defend its 0.1% yield cap for three year bonds, sparking a surge in interest rates on expectations the RBA will signal an earlier rise in its official cash rate (Reuters); and
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Gazprom to send gas to Europe, which lowered gas futures prices there by 11% overnight.
Coming up today and over the weekend, watch out for:
my weekly ‘hoon’ zoom webinar for paying subscribers around the week’s events with Peter Bale from 4pm to 5pm (link below);
a possible 1pm news conference with the latest case numbers and whether Christchurch can stay in level two; and
the expected release of the Government’s increased Nationally Determined Contribution to reducing climate emissions by 2030, which Climate Change Minister James Shaw will take with him to the COP26 conference in Glasgow next week.
(The first four ‘TLDR’ paragraphs of all these articles are for both paid and free subscribers, with paid subscribers getting the post in full below the fold. I’d love free subscribers to upgrade to paid for a year to make my accountability and explanatory journalism on affordable housing, climate change and inequality financially viable. Paid subscribers get everything below the fold, can comment and get invited to special ‘hoon’ webinars I do weekly.)
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